The present invention relates to a fluid filter, in particular an oil or fuel filter for an internal combustion engine, comprising a filter socket designed with a mounting flange that can, in a sealing manner, be connected to a companion flange on an associated apparatus, in particular on an internal combustion engine, wherein at least one fluid duct for supplying fluid to be filtered from the apparatus to the fluid filter and one fluid duct for discharging filtered fluid from the filter to the apparatus extends through the flange connection, wherein, in the filter socket, at least one section of at least one fluid duct can be closed off against the companion flange by means of a sealing plate designed with at least one through opening that is sealed against the companion flange and is arranged flush with an apparatus-side fluid duct.
A fluid filter of the aforementioned type has already been disclosed in DE 42 42 997 C1. In this fluid filter, which is serving as an oil filter, a sealing plate in the form of an essentially continuous plate is arranged between the mounting flange of an internal combustion engine and the mounting flange of the filter socket of the fluid filter, the sealing plate being provided with two breakthroughs for passing the fluid through the plate. Herein, the outer contour of the sealing plate corresponds with the outer contours of the mounting flanges of the internal combustion engine and the filter socket. In this known fluid filter, it is furthermore preferably provided that the sealing plate, on its side facing the mounting flange of the internal combustion engine, carries sealing webs which correspond with the sealing webs of the mounting flange of the internal combustion engine and that the sealing plate, on its side facing the fluid filter socket, carries sealing webs which correspond with the sealing webs of the fluid filter socket. The sealing plate serves to render a connection diagram of the mounting flange on the side of the internal combustion engine suitable for connection of the fluid filter, the connection diagram being predetermined by the manufacturer of the internal combustion engine and, as a rule, failing to correspond with the ideal connection diagram for the fluid filter.
In this known fluid filter, it is considered to be a disadvantage that the sealing plate requires additional free space, because the fluid filter, caused by the intermediately installed sealing plate, moves away from the internal combustion engine by a measure corresponding to the thickness of the sealing plate. In some applications, this might cause problems in connection with the space available, in particular in the engine compartment of modern motor vehicles. Furthermore, the sealing plate is a component which requires variably extending sealing webs to be installed on either of its sides, thus making its manufacture rather difficult. In addition, the sealing plate must be supplied and mounted as a separate component, causing additional efforts and additional costs. If made of metal, as has, to date, been the case for reasons of stability, the sealing plate also contributes noticeably to a high total weight of the fluid filter including the sealing plate, this being inconsistent with the aim of saving as much weight as possible.